{"id":47016,"date":"2025-08-21T12:05:30","date_gmt":"2025-08-21T17:05:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cookieandkate.com\/?p=47016"},"modified":"2025-08-21T12:05:34","modified_gmt":"2025-08-21T17:05:34","slug":"pesto-pizza","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cookieandkate.com\/pesto-pizza\/","title":{"rendered":"Pesto Pizza"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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How about pizza tonight?<\/strong> It’s hard to beat classic pesto pizza. This simple vegetarian pizza recipe is a guaranteed crowd pleaser. It offers an irresistible combination of fresh, bright flavors from the basil pesto and tomatoes, plenty of cheesy mozzarella, and a bubbling crust with a satisfying chew. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This easy pesto pizza recipe comes together quickly with the help of your food processor. You can whip together the dough and pesto in about 15 minutes—just wipe down the processor in between the two components. If you’re looking for a super simple weeknight meal that’s better than take-out, use store-bought dough and pesto instead!<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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Pesto Pizza Ingredients & Topping Options<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Here’s what you’ll need to make this pizza: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pizza dough<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

As usual, I started with my favorite Whole Wheat Pizza Dough Recipe<\/a>, which is a breeze to make. I recommend using white whole wheat flour, which is now called Golden Whole Wheat<\/a> by King Arthur, so the whole wheat flavor doesn’t distract from the bright pesto. The recipe works with all-purpose flour, too. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Change it up:<\/strong> Use your favorite pizza dough recipe that yields around one pound of dough. Store-bought pizza dough works, too—just follow the package’s instructions on letting it rise at room temperature, if necessary. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pesto<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This recipe includes instructions for making basil pesto<\/a> from scratch. It calls for fresh basil, pine nuts, Parmesan, lemon juice, garlic and olive oil. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Change it up:<\/strong> You can substitute another nut for the pine nuts, including almonds, walnuts, pecans or pepitas. You can also use arugula<\/a> instead of basil, which is generally more affordable and easy to find year-round. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mozzarella cheese<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Mozzarella is perfect on pesto pizza. I loved the results with mini fresh mozzarella balls, called ciliegene, which are just the right size to dot your pizzas. You can also use larger mozzarella balls, torn into one-inch pieces. The trick to making great pizzas with fresh, water-packed mozzarella balls is to lightly pat the cheese dry before topping your pizza to avoid excess moisture. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Change it up:<\/strong> You can also use grated part-skim mozzarella for delicious results. I slightly preferred the fresh mozzarella’s texture and loved seeing the pesto’s green color shine through. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Toppings<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Tomatoes are the classic choice. I recommend cherry tomatoes, which are not too watery and generally more flavorful year-round. They bake up best on pizzas when they’re quartered lengthwise, which helps distribute them evenly across the pizzas and gives them ample surface area to help roast away any excess juice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Change it up:<\/strong> You can omit the tomatoes altogether, or substitute other thinly sliced veggies like bell pepper, marinated artichoke, olives, mushrooms, or zucchini or yellow squash (cut like this<\/a>). Well-drained, oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes would offer extra flavor. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Watch How to Make Pesto Pizza<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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What to Serve with Pesto Pizza<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you’re building your meal around pesto pizza as your main course, it’s hard to go wrong. Pesto pizza complements many other fresh, herbed dishes. Here are my top suggestions organized by category. <\/p>\n\n\n\n